NEW YORK – Top South African distance runner Gerda Steyn ran an Olympic qualifying time with a 2:27:48 finish at the New York Marathon on Sunday.
The 29-year-old bettered her previous best by over three minutes to clinch the eleventh place overall in the women’s race in the US city.
The 2019 Two Oceans and Comrades Marathon champion also climbed to fourth place on the all-time South African women’s rankings times in the marathon. Currently, Colleen de Reuck holds the South African record with a time of 2:26:35 which she ran in 1996.
Later on Sunday, Steyn said she had achieved her aim of running an Olympic qualifying time - signalling her intentions to be part of the SA Marathon team at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
— Gerda Steyn (@gerdarun) November 3, 2019